Turistas (Portuguese and Spanish for Tourists) is a 2006 horror film directed by John Stockwell. In some regions of the world, such as France, the Republic of Ireland, Malta and the UK, the film has been released under the alternate title Paradise Lost.[1]
Plot
Three young American tourists, Alex (Josh Duhamel), his sister Bea (Olivia Wilde) and a friend Amy (Beau Garrett), backpacking in Brazil, decide to go by bus and sightsee portions of the country, instead of flying directly to the Northeastern beaches they wish to visit. After a bus crash they are joined by two British men, Finn and Liam (Desmond Askew, Max Brown) and the Australian Pru Stagler (Melissa George) and head to the beach looking for a bar. There they get involved in a party with locals but are served drugged drinks and pass out. The next morning, they awaken on the deserted beach, with only the clothes they had on, stripped of luggage, money, and documents. Looking for help in the nearby village, they encounter conflict with locals as they see some of their belongings worn or lying around. Offering help, Kiko (Agles Steib), a local who speaks some English, volunteers to take them to an isolated cabin in the forest, where they can wait for help. In a long walk through the wilderness, Kiko shows them a “secret place,” a cave beneath a waterfall, but, taking a bad dive into the river, Kiko hits the rocky bottom, and is rendered unconscious and begins bleeding profusely from a cut in his head. Proceeding to the cabin in the jungle, they find food, clothes, and prescription drugs in a number of different names and a drawer filled with other people’s passports.
They are awakened in the middle of the night by a helicopter bringing Zamora (Miguel Lunardi), a physician, and a few associates. They are advised to flee, because Zamora has twisted plans for them, but they are beaten into compliance. Zamora proceeds to a makeshift operating room where he removes organs from Amy, who is sedated, while he explains to Finn, who is tied up, that organ theft for transplant from Brazilians[2] by rich gringos is part of a pattern of exploitation of Brazilian “resources,” and that it is time to “give back.” Victims' usable organs are being harvested and sent to the People’s Hospital in Rio de Janeiro and used for the benefit of the poor.
Meanwhile, the rest of the group outside manage to break free of their cages, fighting and killing one of Zamora’s associates. Alex sends Bea and Pru to wait by the waterfall they passed on the way to the remote residence. Then, he and Liam attempt to raid the cabin. They successfully rescue Finn, who is partially unable to walk because he has been sedated, but while they are running away from the cabin, Finn is shot in the head. Alex realizes they have to resume their escape, but Liam, incensed by the death of his friend, decides to stay behind and fight back, and he is killed.
By the waterfall, Alex, Bea and Pru try to hide inside the flooded cave Kiko showed them, eluding one of Zamora’s associates who is trailing close behind, armed with a bow and arrows, and Zamora’s party. For a time, they are able to put some distance between them and their pursuers. Diving and swimming to the cavern's secondary entrance, they find Zamora is already there, and he shoots them in the water, killing Kiko and injuring Alex.
The survivors are forced to backtrack into the water of the cave, where they can take air at only a few places. They split up, looking for breathing points, trying not to be noticed and fall prey to the archer. Bea and the archer meet at the same breathing spot, but Bea grabs an arrow from the man, stabbing him in the neck and killing him. Alex, Bea and Pru get out of the cave only to run into Zamora. Alex goes berserk, jumps Zamora and hits him in the head with a rock.
Alex is interrupted by the arrival of one of Zamora’s associates, who is armed with a rifle. Zamora instructs him to kill the foreigners. Seeing the trio of survivors, vulnerable and scared, and Zamora in agony, the man hesitates. This infuriates Zamora, who orders the gunman, in derogatory terms, to carry out the killing. Either because of the insult or the objectionable nature of the order or both, the man shoots Zamora and flees. The survivors, coming out of the jungle, meet local villagers who help them to recover.
Later, Alex and Bea stand in line, waiting to board an airplane, while a couple of tourists behind them argue over going by bus. Alex advises them, “Take the plane.”
Cast
Reception
In the United States, Turistas came out on DVD March 29, 2007 and was released in a rated theatrical version, with a running time of 89 minutes. An unrated version of Turistas was also released the same day with a running time of 98 minutes, and was advertised as being "Too Gruesome For Theaters." It was poorly received by the critics, receiving a combined score of 15% from Rotten Tomatoes[3]. The New York Times reported that the movie was "plain stupid," while The Hollywood Reporter felt that an unsettling atmosphere was built at the start but that "the movie begins to fall apart around the halfway point." The film did, however, receive a positive review from Larry Ratliff, film critic for the San Antonio Express-News, who said that the film was "shockingly brilliant." Fangoria Magazine, meanwhile, claimed that it was "a better and scarier film than Hostel."
The film does have a few continuity errors and one unrealistic flaw. Characters change their clothes between scenes surrounding the waterfall, although the group is not carrying any luggage. A flashlight mysteriously appears in Kiko's hand whenever they dive in the waters of the flooded cave. Finally, when avoiding the archer, deep underwater, with no light nor goggles, they are able to see well enough to find air pockets to breathe.
The movie caused some controversy in Brazil, because of the unrealistic and biased image of the country [4][5] and American actor, Josh Duhamel apologized to the Brazilian government and to the Brazilian people during The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, saying that it was not the intention of the movie to stop tourists from visiting Brazil.[6]
References
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0454970/releaseinfo#akas
- ^ http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/biotech/organswatch/pages/brazil.html
- ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/turistas/
- ^ (Portuguese) The blog of Marcelo Tas, a Brazilian journalist and TV host
- ^ (Portuguese) Article published in O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper
- ^ (Portuguese) Article published in O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper
External links
